Book, DVDs and websites

The Periodic Table — A Very Short Introduction

Book review

The Periodic Table — A Very Short Introduction, by Eric R Scerri, 2019 Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 154 pages, paperback, ISBN 978-0-19-884232-3 $11.95 USD This Very Short Introduction is actually part of a very large series of books by the Oxford University Press on a very wide variety of subjects. The second edition was timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table and the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT). Author: Lyle Sadavoy (retired), Toronto, Ontario

The Bastard Brigade

Book review

The Bastard Brigade is Kean's first book involving physics. By his own admission, even though physics was his minor in University, his previous books(1-4) dealt with stories concerning chemistry and biology. As an English literature major, he prefers to tell a "rip roaring" story with science as a backdrop and he has picked a bombshell, literally, to launch his foray into physics. Author: Lyle Sadavoy (retired), Toronto, Ontario

A Guide to the Elements

Book review

Stwertka launches the book in science mode with a brief history of the construction of the Periodic Table. Author: Lyle Sadavoy, Toronto, Ontario

More Molecules of Murder

With Emsley’s third book on murder, one might get the impression that he is preoccupied with this subject. In his introduction he mentions his first book, Elements of Murder, and the precursor to this one, Molecules of Murder. Anyone planning a murder may want to check these books for ideas. Author: Lyle Sadavoy,Toronto, Ontario

The Poison Squad

Deborah Blum's The Poison Squad is actually a prequel to her The Poisoner's Handbook — both a book and an online documentary.

Intriguing Morsels from the Science of Everyday Life

Book review

Lyle Sadavoy, Toronto, Ontario reviews Dr. Joe Schwarcz's latest book Throughout A Feast of Science. Throughout his book Dr. Joe makes the point, before you arrive at an opinion, check the facts. Before you believe what you read on the internet or elsewhere, check the credentials of the author, check if evidence is cited and check the references.

Tornadoes, Rainbows, and Chemistry

Excerpted from A Feast of Science: Intriguing Morsels from the Science of Everyday Life

An excerpt from Feast of Science by Dr. Joe Schwarcz: “There are no safe or dangerous chemicals, only safe or dangerous ways to use them.” And methanol is a classic example....

The Radium Girls - The dark story of America's shining women

The Radium Girls chronicles the dial painting industry and the women who painted these dials with radium–based paint. As sad and depressing were the lives and times of the dial painters, it is equally important to understand the full narrative.

Chemistry in Your Kitchen

Chemistry in Your Kitchen is without a doubt a delicious book. Hartings serves up a marvellous mix of recipes and chemical explanations that can literally whet your appetite.

Caesar's Last Breath Decoding the secrets of the air around us

Caesar's Last Breath is an absolutely delightful book of science, of history, of humour and of fantasy. Kean provides the reader with his trademark humorous and irreverent style of writing, making this book, like his others, engaging and so very enjoyable.

The Cosmic Machine — The Science That Runs Our Universe and the Story Behind It

With The Cosmic Machine — The Science That Runs Our Universe and the Story Behind It, Bembenek has attempted to write about science in a manner that excites the reader without intimidation. To that end he has focused on the history not the theory, the story not the solutions. He notes that equations can be daunting, and he has attempted to omit them entirely.

Poisons and poisonings — Death by Stealth

The book Poisons and Poisonings — Death by Stealth is outstanding for the following reasons: the book explains different poisons found in history; it explains the numerous ways one could be poisoned (e.g., injection vs inhalation); and it describes poisons derived from animals, plants, minerals and human concoctions.

Book review: The Elements

The Elements — a tour of the periodic table is one of a plethora of books on the subject. Dingle’s version focuses on each element’s history, uses and how they connect to each other.

The Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons

The Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons is Sam Kean's third book and again, he does not disappoint. Kean has an engaging, engrossing, entertaining and subtly witty writing style that make his books very easy to read and understand, even if the content is not simple...

Book review

The book series 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know covers a variety of subjects, and Hayley Birch has written the one involving chemistry. While decidedly British, it is easy to disregard the differences in idioms — the chemistry is the same on either side of "the pond".

Book review

Reading a Dr. Joe book is always a thrill and Monkeys, Myths, and Molecules is no exception. Dr. Joe’s writing style is comfortable, engaging and humorous. While he writes for a general audience, he does so with a chemical flair. Monkeys, Myths, and Molecules appeals to chemistry teachers for numerous reasons.

Book review

Chemistry teachers everywhere will recognize the CRC Press (the Chemical Rubber Company) which has been publishing the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (aka the Rubber Book) since 1914. That compendium is likely on every teacher's bookshelf. Molecules that Amaze Us is another reference that every chemistry teacher ought to have.

Book review

The Teenage Brain is incredibly well written and engaging.  Jensen has married scientific research and anecdotal case histories, often including her own family, into a readable, understandable and spellbinding book.

Book review

Stuff Matters is an extremely interesting and engaging book, cleverly written and thoroughly enjoyable on a personal level. On a professional level for a chemistry teacher, it is an important — perhaps necessary — read as it provides background from a material science aspect often missing from chemical education.

Book review

Denialism is a thoroughly engaging book — both frightening and encouraging. Specter is a writer and a former journalist, and the ease of his writing style is evident throughout.

Book review

In their Apologia to this paperback edition of the critically acclaimed sui generis book (Prometheus Books, 2005) that was selected by Choice magazine and the American Library Association as an “Outstanding Academic Title,” Cathy Cobb, Instructor of Calculus and Physics at Aiken Preparatory School and Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the University of South Carolina at Aiken, and Monty L. Fetterolf, Professor of Chemistry at the University of South Carolina, proclaim...

Book review

If you are a chemistry teacher in search of a new demo, or perhaps looking for just the perfect teaching hook to start a lesson, or maybe something just a little zany, then Mad Science 2 is the book for you.

Book review

Chemical education research (CER) is a relatively new discipline that deals with the issues of both teaching and learning chemistry. It uses the theories, tools and experimental designs of a number of fields such as education, psychology and sociology.

Book review

The Case of the Poisonous Socks, Tales from Chemistry

The Case of the Poisonous Socks is a dense, robust, scholarly book which one must read slowly and carefully in order to enjoy all the nuances that William Brock has explored within each chapter. The book is actually not a book at all but a collection of essays Brock has written over his forty-year career as a chemical historian.

Book review

When protons themselves, particles that characterize elements, have half-lives, it should not be shocking that knowledge is not forever. The proton’s half-life, however, is on the order of 1033 to 1034 years.

A CD review

Renowned chemical educator Bassam Shakhashiri explores a broad range of reactions in this captivating 57-minute Christmas video. Through detailed explanations, Professor Shakashiri provides the background chemistry required to understand each demonstration — all while maintaining his “Science is Fun” approach to learning.

Book review

On Fact and Fraud is a little book with a large message about staying clean in science. Goodstein has had a lot of experience with scientific fraud both as a professor — teaching a course on Scientific Ethics at California Institute of Technology, Caltech — and as an administrator.

Book review

Sam Kean has written a deliciously fascinating book in The Violinist’s Thumb. The fascination comes from the fact that it is a book about us, or at least our DNA, the deliciousness because of Kean’s easy writing style and fantastic sense of humour.

Book review

The Right Chemistry is not only the title of the book that I’m reviewing here but also the title of Dr. Joe’s weekly radio show and the weekly articles that he emails every Saturday (to get on his list mail joe.schwarcz@mcgill.ca). Although this book is Dr. Joe’s 14th, it is the first to bear the title that he had pleaded for 15 years ago, when he wrote his first book.

Book review

Malley’s Radioactivity is a detailed account of the discovery of the phenomenon and its development into a science. Her history of radioactivity is extremely thorough, including, in addition to copious end notes and a complete bibliography, six appendices.

Book review

Denying Science is a tough slog. Not because it is a difficult read or hard to understand, but because it is dark and disturbing. It takes time to fully comprehend the magnitude of Grant’s ideas.

A DVD review

What are the essential elements of a useful high school teacher’s chemistry resource? Most experienced teachers would say: it should be easy to follow, provide new ideas and be well organized. A teacher should also be able to pick short activities from the resource to enhance or rejuvenate classroom practice. This resource has all these elements.

Hunting the Elements

Description from PBS website: Where do nature’s building blocks, called the elements, come from? They’re the hidden ingredients of everything in our world, from the carbon in our bodies to the metals in our smartphones.

Chemistry Twitter favorites

I have just signed up for Twitter. Truthfully, I resisted as long as possible, having previously enjoyed making disparaging Twitter comments, such as not wanting to know what Tom Cruise had for breakfast. Really, what could be said in 140 characters? But I was told that as the chair of ChemEd 2013, I would be expected to tweet. So I signed up to get a taste of what Twitter is all about.

Book review

Chemical Demonstrations: A Handbook for Teachers in Chemistry, Volume 5

Chemical Demonstrations: A Handbook for Teachers in Chemistry, Volume 5. By Bassam Z. Shakhashiri

Book Review

Solving Everyday Problems with the Scientific Method, by Don K. Mak, Angela T. Mak, and Anthony B. Mak

Book review

Always keeping my eyes open for a new read, I found a fascinating book titled The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager. The book gives a well-researched discussion of the lives of Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch.

Book review

Energy for a Sustainable World: From the Oil Age to a Sun-Powered Future, by Nicola Armaroli and Vincenzo Balzani